Labor Conciliation (phase 2)

Three experts from Argentina’s SECLO, including its Executive Director, taught a training workshop on labor conciliation to officials from the Secretariat of Labor (SET) of the Dominican Republic, mediators, prosecutors, employers and workers. The workshop comprised a theoretical component that explained the Argentine conciliation system, and a practical component on conciliation techniques and procedures. Following the visit, in November 2007 the SET presented the Consultative Labor Council with a proposal, based on Argentina’s experiences, for drafting a legislative bill that would require individual labor conciliation with the SET to be pursued prior to taking a case before the courts. The Council approved the drafting of this bill by the SET.
 
A need was suggested for the preliminary draft law to establish the selection process for potential “conciliators,” so that selection competitions would be conducted through the National Public Administration Office, thereby avoiding bias towards any specific interest.
 
Additionally, other actions to be taken include the implementation of awareness and sensitization workshops for employers’ associations and labor unions to facilitate comprehension of the benefits of labor conciliation in the SET.